"Chondet" - Chonda Cadet Class? - Input wanted

[John Bartos]

Due to the overwhelmingly popular response we have gotten surrounding our Senior Chonda Class - The board has decided to try and establish a Chonda class for our younger racers - ages 8 to 12.

We are only in the preliminary stages of planning but our thoughts thus far go something like this...

“Chondet” Class – Chonda-Cadet. 8-12 year old drivers. Competitors would use a 950mm or 1010mm cadet chassis (i.e. no kid kart or senior frames). Engine/weight formula will be worked out to yield 50 second lap times (about where our "Chonda-Pro" class is now, and nicely in between the 55 second kid karts and 45 second cadets).

This will offer our experienced younger drivers a chance to race in a "fun" extra class during the day to get some extra seat time, and, more importantly, offer a stepping stone to beginning racers who may have missed out on the opportunity to drive kid-karts, and are not yet ready to step right into a 55-60 mile per hour kart.

Our goal is to use this class to welcome more young drivers to the club - with the hope that once they hone their skills, they will be able to move quickly up to the more advanced classes. For our already expereinced drivers it might offer (we'll expect) the opportunity to race in a very large field once the program gets into full swing.

We will be doing some testing for weights and restrictors over the next couple of weeks - but we welcome everyone's input.

[Eric Meservey]

I have a driver ready to go. We would really be interested. My daughter is interested for the very same reasons you mention. Kid karts were fun, but she's too big now, and a Gazelle intimidates her.

Eric

[Brian Warwas]

WooHoo !! Starting my build today.
Brandin turns 8 in May. Could he race both KK and Chondet ?

[John Bartos]

Brian - I don't think Brandin could race in both classes as the ages do not overlap. KK ends at age 7, and the Chonda class begins at age 8. The Chonda class is meant as a stepping stone to the Cadet class as a means to introduce those who have not raced in kid karts to a less-intimidating form of kart racing.

Once he turns 8 - he will then be able to compete in Chonda as well as Cadet, as I am sure many of our 8 to 12 year olds will be doing. Our race director will be able to accommodate the classes so that no one has to race back-to-back. We'll have enough classes to work out those logistics. The Chonda class will most likely have very large fields and will offer our drivers the opportunity to race against many competitors. This is not much different than what some of our senior drivers are doing now - in both Tag and shifters as well as Chondas.

It is my own experience that to make a Chonda go fast - you have to still do all the things right that pertain to a full-sized kart - chassis set-up is important and driver technique is critical - as errors in both will be exaggerated by the low-horsepower motor.

That certainly does not mean that Brandin, or any others from our graduating class of kid kart drivers can't get behind the wheel and practice Chondas today! Seat time will be very important as going from 1.8 horsepower to 6.5 horsepower (or somewhat lower after we get the restrictor formula worked out) is a significant change, even though the lap times aren't much different. Also - our kid karters are not used to racing in close proximity to one another - so practicing with others in tighter packs of two or three will also be very important.

[Eric Meservey]

Perhaps one item that could be considered for the Chondet class would be to use the stock exhaust muffler from Harbor Freight.

We have plenty of the coming off the adult Chonda motors. They are cheap to come by, if we ever run out. And they will keep kids from likely burning themselves on the muffler/header the adults are using.

Those with just a chonda, or just a chondet, could trade mufflers (kit muffler for factory muffler) straight up, and each would have a spare.

Not to mention it might bring the performance in-line with what we want the kids to attain.

If we do this, we would want to specify that the screen that is over the outlet may be removed. I say this because the screen will quickly deteriorate in-use and come apart anyway.

Eric

[John Bartos]

Eric, your point about a muffler burn hazard on the Chonda set-up is well founded. I rather like the "throaty" sound of the clone exhaust. My recommendation is to fabricate an exhaust guard to prevent any burn hazard.

I put out a post int he Tech Articles forum to address the issue.

http://racekarts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=856